But even as she started to move toward her father's apartment, she stopped again, almost transfixed. A hand had cautiously made its way up the side of the sampan, and was now directing itself toward Mr. Kit-ze's breast.

CHAPTER X

AN ARRESTED SACRIFICE

The hand moved nearer and nearer Mr. Kit-ze's breast; a moment more and it had buried itself in the folds of his robe. Even as Helen continued to gaze like one transfixed, ere yet she had the power to recover herself, a face appeared above the hand. But it was not the face she had expected to see--that of Mr. Choi-So. Instead, the moonlight showed her clearly the repulsive countenance of the old _mutang_.

There are moments when sudden excitement leads us into a line of action our cooler moments would by no means approve, when quick emotions bring impulses that are followed without a pause for reasoning. Such a time had now come to Helen. Mr. Kit-ze was being robbed. She could see that plainly. The thief was the old _mutang_, and the object of her theft, it almost instantly flashed into Helen's mind, was the red _miriok_. In truth, even as the intuition came to her, she saw the hideous little image in the woman's hand.

All Helen's energies were now bent toward a frustration of the old woman's design of carrying away the _miriok_. She, Helen, must recover it ere the _mutang_ got off with it. For if the _miriok_ disappeared, how could she ever carry out her good intentions for either Mr. Kit-ze or Choi-So? All would be frustrated. For would not Mr. Kit-ze be violently angry? and would he not at once charge the theft to Choi-So?

And what might not happen? As to poor Choi-So, he would surely grow demented when he found that the image had gone beyond his reach--oh, she felt that he would!

In her sudden excitement, Helen never stopped for reasoning. Hence it did not occur to her that her testimony would exonerate Choi-So with Mr.

Kit-ze, nor that, so far as the part relating to Choi-So was concerned the old _mutang_ might be located and the stolen image recovered.

All that Helen then thought of was the recovery of the _miriok_. She must get it and at once. Even now the woman was slipping away with it.

If she waited to arouse the others the old woman would be gone, for at the first sounds of alarm, she would speed away like a hunted animal up the bank. Helen knew the magic influence of money, especially of shining _yen_. Had not the old woman shown her greed for them during the afternoon? If the _miriok_ could be recovered, it would surely be through the agency of the _yen_.

Both girls had lain down in the loose wrappers they wore for comfort during a part of the day. In the pocket of hers Helen had her purse.

Besides a few smaller silver pieces there were in it three _yen_.

She leaned quickly over Dorothy; she placed her arm under her neck and gently shook her, all the while whispering: "Get up quickly, dear, and come with me. Don't speak out, don't question; only come and be quick!

quick!"

Fortunately, Dorothy was not hard to arouse when once she had been touched. Like some even heavy sleepers whom a vigorous call cannot awaken, the touch was like magic. In a second or so she was fully awake, and gazing at Helen in deep wonder but alert.

"It is the red _miriok_!" said Helen to Dorothy again in a whisper. "The old _mutang_ has come and stolen it from Mr. Kit-ze. He does not know it, and there is no time to arouse him and the others. We must recover it. If we are quick we can overtake her before she gets away. Then this will accomplish the rest," she added, confidently holding up the purse.

The _mutang_ had now sprung down from the side of the sampan into which she had crept, and was moving rapidly up the slight incline when Helen and Dorothy in turn reached the bank. She saw them almost instantly and, with a m.u.f.fled cry, very much like the growl of an animal, increased her speed.

"Stop!" said Helen in low tones, and as persuasively as she could.

"Stop! We only want to talk to you. We mean no harm."

But the old woman either did not understand them or she would not stop.

It was evidently the latter, for as much as she could, she quickened her pace. But swift as she was, Helen and Dorothy were even swifter. They were only a pace or two behind her as the top of the bank was reached.

It was not far from daylight. The signs of the approaching dawn had already begun to appear along the eastern sky. At the brow of the bluff and stretching away from the temple, was the village of rude mud huts, with now and then a more pretentious one showing in their midst. There was one princ.i.p.al street which ran along between the rows of huts. The _mutang_ made for this with Helen and Dorothy close behind her.

"Stop!" entreated Helen again, and louder than before. "Oh, do stop! We mean no harm. We only want to talk to you." But the more earnestly she entreated, the more determined the old woman seemed to be to resist her, to escape from her.

Helen had now drawn near enough to lay hold of the old woman's clothing, but her grasp was violently shaken off, as the _mutang_ sprang away again with renewed energy.

The two girls, intensely excited, stuck to the chase. All their thoughts were concentrated upon it; their one desire to overtake the old woman and to induce her, by offering _yen_ in exchange, to return the _miriok_. Absorbed in these thoughts, this desire, they lost sight of all else, especially of how every moment that they were getting nearer and nearer to the woman they were going farther and farther away from the sampan.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "'STOP!' ENTREATED HELEN!"]

"Oh," said Helen breathlessly, "we must overtake her! We must get her to give us the _miriok_. We can't let her escape with it in this manner, for what then could we do about poor Choi-So and Mr. Kit-ze?"

"Yes," replied Dorothy, "we must get it back. I am like you, Helen, I can't bear to see the old woman get off with it. Oh, every time I think of that poor man Choi-So and his melancholy, pleading eyes, I feel that we must keep on, that we must overtake her and secure the image by some means!"

"Why," said Helen suddenly, "I have forgotten to tell her about the _yen_ I have for her." Then she began to call, holding up her purse: "See! I have _yen_ for you. Stop and let me tell you about it."

At last she had used the magic words. At sound of them, twice repeated, the _mutang_ slackened her pace. Then she turned her head. Encouraged by these signs, Helen renewed her efforts.

They were now some distance into the village, and a half-mile or more from the sampan. The red glow of the coming morning had fully dyed the east. Already there were signs of stirring life in the huts about them.

Then too, the noise of running feet and of Helen's loudly spoken words had attracted attention. One by one forms began to appear on the street.

Soon there was quite a group in the neighborhood of the pursued and pursuers. By the time Helen had succeeded in gaining the old _mutang's_ interest, there were many curious spectators surrounding them.

"What is all this commotion about?" asked one man as he approached. Then as he noted the _mutang_ he stopped respectfully. The old woman had now paused in her running, and had turned toward Helen. "What were the words? Say them again."

Helen repeated them.

"Why are you running after me in this way? Why do you offer me _yen_?"

she now asked angrily.

Helen told her as simply and as plainly as she could.

At this the old woman's eyes blazed more than ever. But she seemed to take a second thought, and asked cautiously, "How many _yen_?"

"Two," replied Helen, closely watching her face.

The old woman shook her head vigorously, then began to stamp. "Too little! too little!" she said. "Your head is under your arm to think I'd be such an idiot!"

Then she set off again.

"Three!" called Helen desperately, for she knew this was the limit of her resources so far as _yen_ were concerned.

"No! no!" shouted the old woman. "Too little! too little! Five or none."

As the last sentence was uttered, she turned to see its effect on Helen, but as there was not the response she expected, she renewed her efforts to get beyond their reach.

"Oh, if I only had my purse too!" said Dorothy. "But I gave it to my brother yesterday just before we left Mr. Ko's."

In her despair Helen called after the old woman again and again to stop, to turn back with them to the sampan, promising her the _yen_ she desired if only she would do so, and further a.s.suring her that no harm should come to her, for Helen knew Mallard would gladly supply the amount of _yen_ she lacked. She would tell him about the _miriok_. She had been intending to do it the first favorable opportunity.

There was now quite a hubbub in the street, for in addition to Helen's calls and Dorothy's added entreaties, there were the shrill cries of defiance of the old _mutang_ herself. People had come running from all directions, and their loudly voiced questions and exclamations added to the noise. Among others there came five runners, the court officers of a near-by _yangban_ (gentleman), who was serving as magistrate.

When they saw the two girls they began to cry out something against the hated foreigners, and three of them at once took Helen and Dorothy into custody, while the other two hastened away to capture the _mutang_. They were too hardened to mind the old sorceress and her wiles. Moreover, the court was no respecter of persons.

Helen and Dorothy were now much frightened and, for the first time, began to realize what they had done in setting off on this mad chase after the old _mutang_.

Helen was the first to recover herself. "I guess," she said, "it won't be so dreadful. They won't dare hurt us. And soon our dear ones in the sampan will come to the rescue, for surely we can get them word. Anyhow, it won't be long ere they miss us, and they'll search the town over till they find us."

A young man, whom Helen declared looked more honest than any of the others, was soon engaged, in consideration of the offer of two of Helen's smaller silver pieces, to carry the news of their predicament to the sampan. But alas for Helen's confidence! After securing the silver he had taken only about a dozen steps toward the river when, overcome by curiosity to see the thing out, he turned back.